Cervelo gravel bike

I just bought one - haven’t had a chance to try it yet ( too much snow here ). But it is one of very few gravel bikes I could find that came in a small enough model to fit me.
its beautiful and with 650b wheels, it have lots of stand over room   

cant wait for spring!

thefuzzycow wrote:

true! You could get away with it but it does have a lower BB than other CX bikes. So unless you’re hopping barriers, it’ll work! 

I've had mine for a couple months now and can absolutely confirm that the lower BB can be a little annoying at times.  I don't race CX, but I do take it on local MTB trails and have noticed an increased number of pedal strikes since switching from my Trek Crockett.  With 700x40s on it, it does feel a little less nimble than my Crockett did (with 700x38) in the corners, but much faster and more stable in the straights.  

That being said, with 650Bx47s the tables turn and the Aspero becomes a bit of a beast so long as you can keep the pedals out of the dirt and tree roots.  I don't know what it would be like with true 31~33mm CX tires, but I imagine it'd hold it's own.  To that point, I believe there is a Sunweb rider currently racing an Aspero in the CX series'.

For me, I wanted an N=1 bike, and in that regard the Aspero excels.  It's just as happy with 28mm tires on the road mixing it up with Tarmacs and Madones as it is with 40s on gravel or 47s on the trail.  I have three sets of wheels and don't even bother changing my position, just change the wheels and go.  Loving it.

IrrelevantD wrote:

To that point, I believe there is a Sunweb rider currently racing an Aspero in the CX series'.

Thijsvanderwal wrote:You're correct:  https://teamsunweb.com/cervelo-aspero-tech/

Thijsvanderwal wrote:

You're correct:  https://teamsunweb.com/cervelo-aspero-tech/ According to  https://bikerumor.com/2019/11/18/cx-pro-bike-check-cervelos-new-cyclocross-world-cup-bike-is-an-aspero-gravel-bike/ they slightly offset the lower BB by using an eccentric bottom bracket for Nieuwenhuis that fits the 24mm Dura-Ace axle.

So, something like this?

https://wheelsmfg.com/bottom-brackets/ebb/eccentric-bb-for-pf30-24mm-shimano-cranks-black.html

dangle wrote:Having done a bit of SSCX and having dealt with eccentric bottom brackets, it seems crazy that they wouldn't just go down 5 mm in crank length for (what seems to me) like the same effect. Mountain bikes have sure gone that direction the last few years.

IrrelevantD wrote:

So, something like this?

https://wheelsmfg.com/bottom-brackets/ebb/eccentric-bb-for-pf30-24mm-shimano-cranks-black.html

Thijsvanderwal wrote:

Indeed something like that although it's not clear to me the Aspero uses PF30 from their spec sheet. These are usually used to tension a chain in a single speed setup. If BB height is that important and you're not a team Sunweb rider I would definitively go for a different make & model frame instead.

Yea, I've looked up the specs and taken the calipers to the BB that came with mine.  The shell ID is the same as PF30, the thread together BB that came with mine is in fact a PF30 BB and they used DS spacers to make up the difference. 

I actually bought a Wheels BB for 24mm Shimano and it's an internal cup NDS that threads to an external cup DS.  I'm not sure how that would work for an Eccentric BB, I'm assuming they would take the NDS from a BB386 and mate it to the DS from one for a PF30.  As much as I love my Aspero, BBRight is annoying.  

I'd agree that if I was buying the bike for the sole purpose of CX racing (and wasn't sponsored by Cervelo) I'd definitely go with a bike designed for CX, but what they did was a very creative solution and should effectively bring the BB up to a somewhat respectable 71mm drop.  That's only 3mm below my Crockett.  Just looking at the difference between the two in geometry, everything else should be pretty good for CX.

Thijsvanderwal wrote:

Hmm that will still not raise your rings up from the ground and will seriously alter your power distribution, not recommended.

dangle wrote:

If you're running into a situation that your chainrings are smacking stuff in a CX race, you're doing it wrong. I can't imagine something tall enough to hit a chainring that your wheels would still roll over.

What in Earth do you mean by "power distribution" being seriously altered? The crank arm attached to the same chainring is now 2-3% shorter and the pedaling dynamics are obliterated? 

While I'd agree that it wouldn't be "obliterated", people get picky about stuff when it comes to fit and feel.  I know I can tell the difference between 172.5 and 175mm crank arms.  By no means life altering, but I don't know how I'd feel about a 5mm change going between my road bike and my CX bike if I did it on a regular basis.  Also, if you already ride 172.5, you don't really see many 167.5s around.  Generally you see 170, then 165.  That's a big jump.